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Sovereignism is at the crux of the current wave of radical right-wing populism. Populist parties advocate 'taking back control' and generally do so in the name of the 'people', pledging to restore economic well-being. This article argues that populism and sovereignism are inherently connected in radical right-wing populism politics through a set of values that emphasize popular and national sovereignty. To test the empirical validity of our proposition, we focus on two established European radical right-wing populist parties, namely the Rassemblement National in France and the Swiss People's Party and use data from an original survey. We find that while Rassemblement National and Swiss People's Party voters diverge in general economic orientations, they share similar economic populist sovereignist values that significantly shape electoral support for those parties. These findings suggest that economic populist sovereignism may represent an important driver of support for the radical right-wing populism, alongside other correlates of radical right-wing populism voting, such as perceived immigration threat. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

It is widely assumed that political parties need to have members in order to fulfil their functions in a representative democracy (drawing up platforms, candidate nomination and electoral mobilization) and in terms of their legitimacy. However, the theoretical literature on party models - the evolution from the mass party to the catch-all party, the electoral-professional party and/or the cartel party - suggests an increasing marginalization of members within the party organization. In the business-firm party model, members no longer have any role whatsoever. The next phase in this development seems to be a party without members. This article analyses the contextual (societal, communicational and institutional) factors favouring the rise and endurance of the memberless party as well as the strategic conditions for doing without formal membership (such as maximizing the centralization of internal decision-making, promoting party unity and enhancing electoral effectiveness). The functioning of two no-member parties - the Freedom Party in the Netherlands and the Lega dei Ticinesi in Switzerland - will be discussed in the empirical part of this article. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of Swiss Political Science Review is the property of Wiley-Blackwell and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

Copyright of Swiss Political Science Review is the property of Wiley-Blackwell and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

Copyright of Politix is the property of De Boeck Universite and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

The aim of this paper is to highlight the public's appraisal of politicians' behaviour. We know from previous studies that citizens' judgements of politicians are related to social and political characteristics. Nevertheless, the impact of partisan ties, especially in European countries, has rarely been investigated. Using data drawn from surveys carried out in two neighbouring regions, in Switzerland and Italy, we focus on the supporters of two right-wing populist parties, the Lega Nord and the Lega dei ticinesi. Empirical evidence shows that, in contrast with the anti-establishment and anti-corruption discourse of these parties, their supporters are more indulgent vis-à-vis politicians' transgressions than the supporters of more moderate and left-wing parties. In order to interpret these findings, we consider the position of these populist parties in their respective party systems (both were involved in government coalitions at the time the survey was carried out), the behaviour and character of their leaders and their supporters' attitudes regarding public and private conduct. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]